COLORADO SPRINGS — A body has been found in a burned home in the Mountain Shadows neighborhood.

A second person is missing, Police Chief Peter Carey announced. He said the body was found at 2910 Rossmere St.

Earlier, Mayor Steve Bach told an afternoon news conference that 346 homes on 35 streets have been destroyed by the Waldo Canyon fire, making it the most destructive fire in Colorado history.

In a bit of good news, officials announced that a considerable number of evacuees would be allowed to return to their homes beginning at 8 p.m. Thursday. Evacuations are being lifted for an area west of Interstate 25 and south of Rockrimmon. Cedar Heights, Rockrimmon, Mountain Shadows and Peregrine remained on mandatory evacuations.

Police warned people to go home in an slow, orderly fashion. There was no estimate available on how many people were being allowed to go home.

At 8 p.m., officials also revised the fire’s acreage to 16,750 and its containment to 15 percent.

There will be meetings tonight at 8 p.m. with the impacted homeowners where they will be shown a map of the area. Buses will bring residents to the meeting from the evacuation centers.

Colorado Springs Police Chief Peter Carey said he anticipates a spike in crime in affected areas. He confirmed one burglary arrest was made Thursday morning. He also noted that some reported damage could have been made by first-responders in their efforts to save lives and property.

“All over the city people have taken in strangers and friends of friends of friends,” Bach said. “Everywhere we turn, people are helping people.”

Lt. Jeff Kramer, an El Paso County Sheriff’s Office spokesman, said Thursday the U.S. Forest Service is eager to get word from incident command so officials can get into the burn area and start the investigation. He says there is no indication at this time of arson.

Firefighters have a containment line around 10 percent of the burned area. No injuries have been reported.

Officials say 20,085 homes and 160 commercial building are threatened and are in the fire’s path. The cost to date of the fire is $3.2 million.

Fire officials said higher humidity levels, some rain and less winds helped firefighters on Thursday.

“We made significant progress on the ground today,” Jerri Marr, a U.S. Forest Service supervisor, told an afternoon news conference.

Today was the best day for weather since the fire started, she said. Firefighters made the most progress on the north and northwest side, where firefighters were on the ground.

U.S. 24 is closed from Cave of the Winds to the county line and will remain that way through the weekend. Garden of the Gods park, the Pikes Peak Highway and cog railroad and the Air Force Academy area all closed to visitors.

The communities of Cascade, Chipita Park Green Mountain Falls and Crystola are under mandatory evacuation orders, along with parts of northwest Colorado Springs, the Air Force Academy and unincorporated Teller County.

You know it’s cold when Mickey won’t ice skate with kids, or when Russian ballerinas have bus trouble. Even some criminals took the day off when Denver’s temperature plunged to minus-10 early Thursday.